Reviews—Dr. Andrews’ Marine Reptiles, Oxford Clay. 565 
and other localities near by, had unusual facilities for obtaining the 
fossils which were unearthed, and lost no opportunity of rescuing 
them; the greatest care being taken by him to keep the various 
parts of each individual together and separate from others. The 
bones were numbered and packed in separate parcels, so that in 
the end it has been possible to bring together the almost complete 
skeletons of a number of these animals. Frequently the bones when 
found were broken in many pieces, and these were reunited by 
Mr. Leeds with the greatest skill and patience. Subsequently, when 
the specimens came into the possession of the British Museum, they 
were mounted with no little ability by the formatore in the Geological 
Department, and now several of them are to be seen in the Museum 
eases. ‘Those of us who have examined these wonderfully recon- 
structed skeletons have long been hoping for some account of them, 
and at length we have the satisfaction of welcoming the volume 
which has been published by order of the Trustees of the British 
Museum, and proves to be a memoir worthy of the institution 
from which it issues. The work is entitled 4 Descriptive Catalogue 
of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay, but although this title 
may be correct it conveys but little idea of the careful and detailed 
labour which has been bestowed upon the volume by Dr. Andrews. 
It is an elaborate memoir, and will in future be the necessary work 
of reference for the Oxford Clay reptiles of which it treats. 
Dr. Andrews, in his Introduction, gives an interesting general 
account of the collection, and says the perfection of some of the 
specimens is such that ‘‘it has been possible to mount the bones 
in their natural relations as easily as if they had been obtained by 
the maceration of a fresh carecass’’. ‘‘ A notable instance of this is 
the fine skeleton of Cryptocleidus oxoniensts which is figured on the 
Frontispiece,’’ reproduced from a photograph. Skulls, it seems, 
have rarely been found in anything lke a perfect condition, and 
frequently some part of a skeleton, such as a limb, is wanting in 
an otherwise perfect specimen; from these and similar facts it is 
argued that many of the bodies must have been dismembered while 
the bones were still united by the softer tissues. A short account 
is given of the geological horizon that has yielded this collection 
of fossils, which is said to be the Lower Oxford Clay of English 
geologists, characterized by numerous examples of the ‘Ornatus’ 
group of Ammonites. 
The present volume is only the first part of the entire work, and 
is restricted to the description of the Ichthyosaurian and Plesiosaurian 
remains; while Part II, we are promised, will deal with the Pliosaurs 
and Crocodiles. 
The Ichthyosaurian specimens are all referred to one genus and one 
species, Ophthalmosaurus vcenicus ; and it is pleasing to find that these 
names, proposed by: the late Professor H. G. Seeley (thirty-six years 
ago), can be retained for them: his keen insight into the details of 
reptilian osteology enabled him to realize the importance of characters 
which are still used for their generic distinction. Although only one 
Ichthyosaurian species is recognized by Dr. Andrews in the present 
work, he appreciates the large amount of variation to be seen in 
